How can I protect my OLED screen from burn-in?

Question

Is there a utility that can prevent burn-in on OLED screens for Ubuntu 18.04? Something that automatically prevents the screen from showing the same pixel value for too long?

Answer 1

Activate the xdg-screensaver after enabling it, or use Xscreensaver (man page). The former blanks the output, whereas the latter provides your choice of blank output, or multiple outputs which randomize the content.

Answer 2

What the experts say

From OLED screen burn-in: What you need to know now:

So if the fear of the mere possibility of burn-in is your primary concern, the decision is simple: buy an LCD-based display instead. But know that you're sacrificing the best picture quality that money can buy. Here are some points to keep in mind:

• Burn-in is possible with OLED, but not likely with normal use.
• Most "burn-in" is actually image retention, which goes away after a few minutes.
• You'll almost certainly see image retention long before it becomes permanent burn-in.
• Generally speaking, burn-in is something to be aware of, but not worry about.

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Some tips for Ubuntu

• Auto hide the launcher and only have it appear when the mouse bumps the window border where it is docked.
• Periodically shift the location of the application indicator panel from top to bottom and back again.
• Blank the screen after 10 minutes of inactivity. This is how the function got it's name "screen saver" in the first place.